The influence of key processing parameters on thermoset laminate curing

The many uncertainties in thermoset composite laminate processing can have undesirable consequences. It is impractical to address the uncertainties individually. A methodology is introduced in this study that ranks parameters by an influence metric to give insights into how to reduce variability in cure time most effectively. The presented example considers a range of parameters from the material, geometry, and processing conditions within a thermochemical model of composite laminate curing. Due to the nonlinearities in the process, the influence metric must include representative parameter uncertainty. In the example considered here of a highperformance aerospace grade epoxy system, dwell temperature and diffusion terms in the cure kinetics model were most influential. This was a result of a long dwell period and a post-vitrification final degree of cure. Therefore, the best investment to reduce curing variability is processing equipment with repeatable and uniform temperature.

Automated summary

This study introduces a methodology to assess the uncertainties in thermoset composite laminate processing and rank parameters by an influence metric to reduce variability in cure time effectively. The findings suggest that controlling the temperature of the processing equipment is the best investment to reduce curing variability.